The present invention relates generally to enclosures for receiving gas line connections and more specifically to an enclosure for installation within a wall and supporting a gas line connection within a wall.
In residential and/or commercial construction, appliances such as washers, dryers, hot water heaters, furnaces, stoves, gas grills etc., all require connection to one or more utilities, such as electricity, water, and/or gas in order to function. Convenient electrical connections are very well known. However, connections for water and gas lines are more problematic. Typically, gas and water lines are located within the walls or under the floors of a building, with appropriate sealed connections provided to the appliance at the point of use. The gas or water line typically protrudes from the wall or from the floor adjacent to or behind the location of the appliance.
Housings for water line connections are known. Such known housings typically place at least a portion of the water line connection behind the plane of the wall, allowing water using appliances (e.g., washers, refrigerators, or water coolers) to be positioned closer to the wall, to better utilize the available floor space. Such known housings are typically mounted to the wall studs after cutting a hole in the drywall, such that a face of the housing is roughly flush with the surface of the wall. A drainage connection may also be provided in such housings, with flexible water lines routing water to and from the appliance as needed.
For appliances requiring natural gas connections, the gas supply lines are also routed through the wall as described above. Unlike water lines, gas supply lines require heavier gauge piping, typically rigid piping commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cblack pipe.xe2x80x9d Gas supply lines also require much more secure connections, and require a shut-off valve at the terminus of the rigid piping to prevent the leakage of combustible gases. A typical gas supply line connection positioned outside of the plane of the wall is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.